The Object of Curiosity
by iPastatalia
Summary: Somehow, unintended by both, she became the "other guys" object of curiosity and interest. Bruce/OC... Starts prior to the Avengers movie and will continue on afterwards.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is my sixth story so far and it's the product of my recent severe writers block that I've been suffering from while trying to write "A Brighter Future Maybe." I started this one spur of the moment and am sort of please at how it went, so I'm posting it to see if maybe it can go farther. Also, to those of you who are reading this that are following ABFM, please take comfort in knowing it will be updated by Christmas with maybe two chapters.**_

_**Disclaimer: I'm not Stan Lee or the CEO of Disney so it should be obvious that I don't own anything except for Emma Lawrence and the twisted plot line.**_

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Gun shots echoed across the bustling night sky as a lone twenty year old young woman raced through the narrow alley ways of Calcutta. Terror coursed through her body as she ran farther and farther away from the officers who were chasing her. It was obvious that these people weren't afraid to use force and she was seriously beginning to wonder in maybe living here had been such a good idea. People jumped out of the way and yelled at her as she rushed past, though the officers were hot on her tail. Darting down a side street, she saw her only chance of escape. It was a dark, mostly hidden doorway that she had seen many times before. So as quick as she could, she ducked through the door way and held her breath. On the street outside, she heard the men run past and carefully she out a sigh.

What she hadn't expected was for the tiny hovel to be already occupied. No sooner had she breathed of relief, a hand was over her mouth and a gun in her face. Stiffing a scream, she blinked rapidly. Through the darkness, she could vaguely see the face of a man and she swore that this man had a vivid green aura. She had enough sense to stay still and sure enough the man let her go.

_"I'm so sorry." _she whispered as the man backed away from her.

_"Yeah. You shouldn't just barge into peoples houses like that." _the man replied in a soft voice.

He was still starring at her and she felt sort of strange, like she was looking at two different beings. It was also at this moment that she realized that he was speaking English something that was uncommon in this area. Though despite this, she shakily stood up and bowed.

_"I should go." _she whispered sadly as she took a step backwards.

It was really, honestly, the strangest thing because as she said that, the aura took on a shape of its own. It was a creature of monstrous proportions with black hair and green skin and green eyes. The creature looked angry but not like it was mad at her but like it was mad at the world.

_"Are you an alien?"_ she asked suddenly before she could stop herself.

There was silence until the man laughed. Not a joyful laugh but a sardonic sort of laugh.

_"No alien." _he laughed and she cracked a half smile.

_"I've been terribly rude haven't I? First i barged into your house, then I ask a strange question like that and we dont even know each other." _she gasped as she smacked her forehead.

_"My name is Emma Lawrence." _she added as she bowed slightly.

The man was quiet for a moment and Emma could see that he seemed to be arguing with himself. The creature-aura had not taken its gaze off of her and Emma wasn't really to sure about that.

_"Bruce Banner and you can stay if you like." _replied the man and Emma beamed.

Bruce knew that the "other guy" hadn't taken his attention off of the girl the entire time and that was a major feat. Maybe there was something special about this girl and if the other guy seemed interested, then maybe it was worth it.

That was how they came to be together. Neither stayed together during the day and even if they did cross paths, they didn't say much to each other. Bruce knew enough to act as a doctor to the townspeople and Emma worked in the houses of government officials. She often came home earlier than he did and generally made more money. Bruce and Emma had developed a sort of friendly relationship, to which that was the farthest that either was willing to go. Though neither would admit that they wished it was more.

A year and a few months after she stumbled upon him, Emma was extreamly late coming home one night. Bruce knew Emma was strong but even so it made him worry. Around three in the morning, Emma finally staggered through the door and collapsed onto the floor. She was bleeding pretty bad and she was fairly certain that her arm was broken. Her entrance startled Bruce awake, though surprising enough, the other guy didn't force his way out. Scrambling up off of the floor, he lit a lantern and looked around.

_"Emma? What the hell happened?" _he breathed as he tried to roll the girl over.

Through the scarce light, he could tell that she had been brutally sliced across the lower abdomen, though not deep enough to damage her internal organs. Her body was bruised and battered, like someone had beaten the crap out of her.

_"Is that you, Bruce?"_ Emma whispered hoarsely.

_"What happened?" _Bruce asked but Emma didn't reply.

Her chest was moving up and down with every breath, so Bruce knew that she had fallen asleep. So as careful as he could, he began trying to bandage up what he could. It would take Emma nearly three days before she would be able to walk around again and Bruce stayed by her every chance he could.

Deep down, Bruce felt strange because he hadn't tried to get close to anyone since Betty. He was afraid that he could and wold hurt someone so he had stayed away. For this reason alone, it made no sense as to why he even let Emma stay. A growl rumbled through his head and it reminded him why he couldn't let her leave. Somehow, Emma had earned the attention of The Hulk and as no one had ever done this, he had been afraid to let her go. So to see her in such a state made both sides of him very angry but logical Bruce was stronger and so far they had been alright.

Two weeks after this event, while Bruce was visiting a house with sick children, Emma disappeared with only a short note left. Bruce had nearly cried and the "other guy" was angered.

_ Thank you for everything. For not kicking me out to letting me stay. I don't want to leave but I don't want you to be caught up in the messes that I've made. I wish I could have said this in person but, I do love you and I'm truly very sorry. Forever yours._

Two years later, an agent from SHIELD came to ask him to join them in preventing a global catastrophe He had gone along, not forgetting Emma in the slightest but in the hopes that maybe SHIELD could help him find her. What he didn't know was that she had also been brought on board by SHIELD but not for the same reason.


	2. Chapter 2

**So its Christmas Eve and I'm tired as heck. I'm really astounded how well the first chapter did and i dearly hope that this chapter doesn't let anyone down. Have a wonderful Christmas, Winter Holiday, or whatever it is that you choose to celebrate. **

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Life aboard the SHIELD helicarrier was nothing spectacular and Agent Lawrence felt she would rather be back in Calcutta with Bruce than be here without him. It had already been two years and if SHEILD hadn't busted her out of that research facility, she would still be there. After having been forced to leave India, she had gone on the run only to be caught by a bounty hunter who had been looking for her. He had turned her in to the high up mucky mucks of the research facility where they literally tortured her to near death. For several days on end, they had subjected her to extreme amounts of Gamma radiation and in the end; it hadn't done anything aside from heightening her already given abilities. Her captors kept talking about how they were trying to make a better Hulk; something that was smaller and less volatile but with more strength and endurance. Every single other test subject had died or was killed because they either went crazy or became too dangerous.

Grumbling, Emma stood up from the wall she'd been leaning against and began walking towards the cafeteria. She was just about to head down the stairs when she received a call that she was wanted on the bridge. Groaning, she turned around and headed back the other direction. As she arrived on the bridge, she spotted Director Fury talking to a group of people. She kept her distance until Fury looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"_Finally decided to join us, Agent Lawrence?"_ he asked as Emma crossed her arms and scowled.

"_I'll have you know I was heading to get lunch."_ She replied with a huff.

"_Where do you get all these good looking girls at, Fury?"_ Tony asked as Emma narrowed her eyes.

What happened next was not something any of them would have expected. Emma flung her arm out at Tony and knocked him off his feet though her hand hadn't made any contact at all. There was a moment of silence before Thor laughed and Emma smiled.

"_Agent Lawrence is our leading Gamma expert at SHIELD. She will be working with Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark." _Fury stated as Emma blinked in surprise.

There was another moment of silence as Tony stood up and clapped his hands. For a moment, Emma and Tony starred at each other and in the end, Emma donned a triumphant smirk. Everyone else that was watching the exchange seemed confused.

"_Well we better get to work, right boys?"_ she stated and motioned for Bruce and Tony to follow her.

The helicarrier corridors were a maze and Bruce swore that he would be lost if Emma hadn't been leading them.

"_So how'd you get to be an expert on Gamma radiation?"_ Bruce asked as Tony nodded.

"_By being an experiment for the federal government, I suppose. It's actually quite a long story."_ She replied as they stopped in front of a lab door.

"_This is where your lab is. Please remember that it's Lab 7. I'm going to go grab my stuff and I'll be right back."_ Emma stated as she slid her card through the scanner to open the lab door before heading further down the hall to another lab.

Bruce entered the room and began setting up for work while Tony wandered around looking at everything before finally sitting down on a stool and doing whatever he felt like. He was actually in the process of prodding Bruce with a miniature electric cattle prod when Emma returned and smacked him in the back of the head.

"_What was that for!"_ he cried in mock hurt as Emma glared at him.

"_Being rude."_ was Emma's blunt reply.

Bruce was trying hard not to laugh and Emma smiled slightly as well. They didn't have to say anything to each other after being apart for so long.

"_Do you realize that I've bested you twice already, Mr. Stark?" _Emma asked as she moved around the counter to stand next to Bruce.

"_Well I guess that means third times the charm, right?"_ Tony asked and Emma shook her head.

"_I seriously doubt that my smacking you a third time will make you any more charming."_ Emma replied as Bruce laughed.

"_We can try to prove this wrong, if you'd like."_ She added with a sweet smile and Tony backed up to his corner.

Tony didn't say anything and Emma nodded. The conversations soon turned to science and work and the Tesserect. Hours passed and between the three of them, they still hadn't managed to locate the Tesserect. Eventually, Tony had to ask a question that had been bothering him.

"_How'd you knock me off my feet like that?"_ he asked as Bruce glanced up from what he was doing to see Emma's response.

"_You mean it wasn't my good looks?"_ Emma asked sarcastically.

"_No. Seriously, how'd you do that?" _he added as Emma shrugged.

"_It's just a side effect of the experimentation. I can do quite a lot of things, actually."_ She replied as Tony and Bruce just starred at her.

"_Please don't stare at me like that. It makes me uneasy."_ She added as Bruce nodded and went back to working.

"_I'm going to get dinner. Anyone want to join me?" _Emma asked after she closed her screens down.

Bruce nodded and finished up his work before leaving with Emma. Tony flashed them a huge grin and thumbs up but neither seemed to notice. The trip to the cafeteria was short and eventually they had their food.

"_Let's sit over here."_ Emma whispered as she led Bruce to a table away from the center of everything.

"_It's been two and a half years."_ She added as Bruce nodded in agreement.

"_Why'd you leave like that?"_ Bruce asked as he starred at her.

"_I was in a lot of trouble; more than one group who'd have liked it better if I was dead. I ran away because I didn't want them to catch me or you. I couldn't risk the only person who meant everything to me."_ Emma stated as she stabbed at the string bean chicken she had chosen.

"_I thought over every possible outcome and picked the one that I felt would work out best. "_She added as a small tear landed on the tray of food.

Shoving the food away, Emma glared hard at the table. Why was it suddenly so hard to tell him what had happened? Everything that happened after leaving Calcutta had not been good or easy. She had been brutally beaten and raped by the people who had captured her. Once she was stateside, they handed her over to that government research place and from there it became even less of a walk in the park. Shaking her head, she stood up quickly and began walking out of the crowded mess hall before she did something regrettable. Bruce was quick to follow her and he noticed that Emma seemed to be having a hard time walking straight. Eventually, he followed her to the sleeping quarter's part of the carrier.

"_You shouldn't have followed me Bruce."_ Emma ground out as she fumbled with her key card to open the door.

What happened next was something that Bruce seriously wasn't expecting. The door to Emma's room slid open but Emma didn't make it that far. She crumpled over in the door way and began to shake, almost like she was having a seizure of some sort. Bruce ran over and grabbed her, no seizure, but for some reason, she was in a state of shock. Tears poured out of her eyes and she began to mumble incoherent things, so Bruce picked her up and gently set her on the bed.

"_I love you Bruce. That's why I left."_ She mumbled through the shaking and the tears.

Bruce couldn't leave her like that, so as gently as he could manage; he untangled Emma from himself. He managed to close her door before turning the lights off. In the darkness, he heard Emma gasp.

"_Please don't leave me."_ She whispered through the tears.

"_I won't leave again, I promise."_ She added in a shaky voice.

Bruce scooped her up from the bed and held her. Emma was absolutely terrified and even now, she was afraid that he would leave her alone, just like she had. She didn't register the fact that he was laying her down and that his face was mere centimeters away. Trying to take a deep breath, Emma opened her eyes and blinked at what she saw. Bruce was starring her in the eyes and it felt like every ounce of stress she'd had was gone. Another thought flicked through her brain at that moment but she felt it might be best to disregard it.

Sniffing away some of the tears, Emma leaned up and pressed her lips against his. Bruce was surprised but didn't hesitate in kissing her back. He was marveled at how soft her lips were and how she tasted like strawberries. They broke for air but the desperation in her eyes was enough to keep him from moving. He climbed on top of her and the weight in certain areas was enough to drive them crazy. And it might have continued on had Emma not yawned. So slowly, he slid to her side and held her close as they drifted off to sleep.

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**I've got so many ideas for where this could go and already this story, since its release, has become one of the more popular one from my collection. I really look forward to working on this. Also, please feel free to message me or review with any input, suggestion, or ideas.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow... Longest chapter I've ever written and posted. Anyways, thanks so much to The Yoshinator for reviewing each chapter so far. **

**Disclaimer****: Still not Stan Lee... Not Mine.**

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She was screaming, there was so much pain and fear that she couldn't even breath. Everything around her was black and for a moment she thought she was back at the research facility. She could see the faces of all the others who had died because they were seen as failures. Most of them had been children who were either orphans or their parents didn't want them. All but a few of them died and those who had survived, well she had no idea where they had ended up. Then, again, she was in the darkness and was being pulled downwards. She tried to fight against it and as she struggled, a voice came floating through the abyss. She knew that voice; she'd heard it so often in the better dreams. She tried to respond, to call out for help but all that came out was a scream. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was over with a forceful slam into something very hard.

"_Oh my goodness!"_ Emma screamed out as she kicked her feet free of the blankets.

"_Calm down, Emma. You're alright."_ Stated the voice from the dream and Emma knew exactly who it was.

"_Good morning, Bruce."_ She greeted with a false cheerfulness that didn't go unmissed.

"_That must have been an awful dream."_ Bruce commented as Emma sat down on the bed and stared at the blankets.

"_It's not that bad."_ She lied softly as a tear forced its way down her cheek.

Bruce didn't say anything more, instead opting to sit up and pull the distraught woman into his arms. Emma took a deep breath and forced herself to forget about the nightmare. She buried her face deeper into Bruce's chest and inhaled deeply. Both of them were immensely enjoying the moment until a loud buzzing sound echoed around the room. Emma groaned as she reached under her pillow and produced a small flip phone.

"_Agent Lawrence here, what's up?"_ Emma asked as she held the phone up to her ear.

"_Goodness me Emmy; Are you still sleeping?"_ asked a familiar voice from the other end of the line.

"_I was until you woke me up, Arianna. Either way, I'm awake now."_ Emma grumbled as she leaned back into Bruce.

"_Sheesh. I just wanted to let you know that I'm back on the helicarrier."_ Arianna stated as Emma nodded to herself.

"_I'll be in Lab 7 this morning, want to meet there?"_ Emma asked.

An agreement was made and once Emma flipped the phone shut, she flopped back onto the pillow. Heaving a sigh, she glanced over at Bruce, who was watching her. Leaning up, she let her lips brush against his and once again, it was heaven. Eventually they broke the kiss and Emma giggled.

Bruce dressed enough to head back to his own room, while Emma headed into her tiny bathroom to shower. She got dressed, pulled on her tennis shoes, and headed out to the cafeteria. Once she was there, she spotted Arianna sitting at what was usually their table. So she grabbed a glass of orange juice before approaching her partner.

"_Back already?"_ she asked as Arianna looked up from her sketch pad.

"_Yeah. Director Fury told me that there's some sort of apocalyptic catastrophe on our doorstep and that my talents' were better suited here than somewhere else."_ Arianna stated as she shook her head.

"_I swear, sometimes Fury is like a mother he when it comes down to keeping track of his agents."_ She added, earning a laugh from Emma.

"_Any idea where the Tesserect is?"_ Emma asked as she slugged back the rest of her orange juice and stood up.

"_Iron Man and Captain America apprehended Loki in Stuttgart, Germany last night. Of course, somewhere between here and there, Thor shows up to try and take Loki back to Asgaurd. Well, according to Natasha; Iron Man, Captain America and Thor duked it out before bringing Loki back to the helicarrier."_ Arianna stated as she stood up as well.

"_If nearly all gods are the same, then Loki's looking to make a statement. He's going to want all the lights, the cameras, the action, and I can almost bet that he's going to pick the most extravagant place in…"_ Emma stated as she looked at Arianna.

"_Are you saying that?"_ Arianna asked as Emma paled considerably.

Neither said another word as they took off at break neck speeds through the corridors for the lab. They were getting close when Emma felt a pulling sensation at her chest and went tumbling face first into the floor. She stood up, cussing loudly, and forced herself to lean against the wall. Just as Arianna placed her hand on Emma's shoulder, the helicarrier was rocked by a terrible force and it sent both girls to the floor.

Arianna didn't wait for Emma to reply and nodded as she ran off to help out the agents on the bridge. Emma managed to stand up straight and instead of following her partner; she hurried up to her lab and shut the blinds. She managed to change clothes, from her typical agent gear to her specialized fighting uniform. The material was stretchy and flexible, meant to expand with her should she happen to suddenly grow. Though this wasn't all that common, it was still better to be prepared.

Minutes later, Emma was on the hanger deck and it seriously didn't look good. Taking shelter behind a beam, she saw it. It Bruce, but it wasn't; rather it was the "other guy." Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from around the corner and directly into the Hulk's line of sight.

"_Please don't hurt Natasha."_ Emma stated as calmly as she could and her eyes locked with the Hulk's.

In the moment it had taken for Emma to talk, Natasha had gotten up and begun moving away as fast as she could. Emma glanced over but kept her gaze solely on the being in front of her; she knew better than to try and reason with the Hulk.

"_I know Bruce is in there somewhere but right now, you need to listen to me Hulk. Both of us are in danger if we stay here. I'm going to blow a hole in the wall but I want you to follow me."_ Emma stated as she took a step towards the wall that separated them from the outside.

"_I won't ask you to do something that I'm not willing to do myself."_ She added as a blue glow began to emanate from her hands.

Seconds later, Emma had successfully blown a Hulk sized hole in the wall and with a laugh, she jumped through it. Now, the sane Bruce Banner side of the Hulk would have protested at jumping thirty-five thousand feet but the typical Hulk side had no qualm about doing such a thing. It did however make both sides question the sanity of the girl that they loved. Emma, through some bizarre twist, had developed the ability to fly or at least manipulate gravity to the point where she could be lighter or heavier. So she was truly enjoying herself as she threw her arms out and did a barrel roll. She watched as the Hulk plummeted past her and she laughed.

She landed out ide of an old warehouse and it didn't go unmissed that the old man who was standing outside wasn't the least bit surprised.

"_Did a giant green creature fall out of the sky and land around here somewhere?"_ Emma asked the old man, who nodded in response.

"_Is that fella your boyfriend, missy?"_ he asked and Emma smiled.

"_He's got one heck of a condition, miss. You might wanna be careful with that."_ The man added as Emma laughed.

Emma smiled and laughed, though the man was kind enough to supply her with clothes for Bruce when he woke up. She pushed the service door open and nearly fell over laughing at the sight. The Hulk had crashed straight through the roof, broken several of the support beams, and made a descent sized crater in the cement floor. Approaching quietly, she noted Bruce was still unconscious and stark ass nude. Forcing a blush from her face, she dropped the clothes on him and prodded his cheek gently until a groan escaped him.

"_Morning sleeping beauty."_ She whispered as Bruce forced hi eyes open.

"_Did anyone see?"_ he asked as Emma raised an eyebrow.

"_Just the old grounds keeper and a bunch of pigeons." _Emma replied as she smirked.

"_By the way, you might want to get dressed." _She added lightly as she poked his chest.

Emma turned away and began levitating herself up towards the rafters. She glanced down to see Bruce pulling the pants on and a flutter shot through her. Forcing herself to think straight, she told herself that maybe after this was all over; maybe then they could be in love and be at peace. Once Bruce had dressed, Emma fluttered down beside him and slipped her hand in his.

The old man was kind enough to lend them his motorbike and after seeing how rumbly it was, Emma insisted that she would fly instead of ride. Well, she tried to but suddenly, she saw the Hulk's aura and the better part of common sense told her that she ought to ride. Wrapping her arms around Bruce's waist, she held on for dear life. Alright, so it seriously wasn't that bad and with her gift with gravity, she was able to make the bike move faster.

It took hours for them to reach New York City and as they sped through the city streets, Emma loosened her grip on Bruce and began drifting upwards. She called out that she would meet up with him in a bit, before rocketing in the sky and spotting Iron Man. She spotted the device on the top of Stark Tower and she made a bee line for it.

"_Dr. Selvig, you need to stop that thing."_ She cried as she touched down on the top of the building.

"_Isn't it amazing?"_ Selvig cried and Emma frowned.

Emma wasn't sure how to turn the machine off or if that was even possible. She stepped closer to the Tesserect and she began to feel strange. She knew that the cube radiated a minimum amount of gamma radiation and she also knew that she didn't do to well with close contact to this type of thing. Back tracking slightly, she glanced over the side of the building and saw that it was a war zone down on the street level. Captain, Arianna, and Widow were fighting on the street while the Hulk and Thor fought about mid sky level. Looking up towards the portal, she saw Iron Man blasting the damned aliens as they flew through it.

What happened next was straight out of the history books. Through her ear piece, she heard Tony say something about a nuclear missile and instantly, she and Tony had the same idea.

"_Put it through the portal."_ She cried and Tony agreed.

"_Will you be able to do that though?"_ Steve asked as Tony gave a humorless laugh.

"_If you can get it through the portal, I'll take care of the rest."_ Emma stated softly as several voices echoed surprise.

There was a baited silence as all eyes turned heavenward as Tony and the missile disappeared through the portal. Charging up her hands, Emma flexed her fingers and pushed her way through he barrier to the cube. It was hot, really hot and it was really painful as she forced the gravity around the cube to become heavier. She was effectively making a barrier around it when there was a sudden energy urge and Emma screamed. The machine shut down and a secondary, more powerful energy surge erupted from the Tesserect. It was stronger than Emma thought and the blast knocked her into the air and off of the building. In fact it was so powerful and so hot that it burned nearly all the way through her midsection and the pain was so bad that she ended up unconscious.

Everyone was so focused on Tony, who had fallen through the portal at the last second and was not waking up. The Hulk roared in Tony's face, effectively forcing the life back into the man. It was Thor who had glanced up first and saw Emma fall but it was Arianna who sped forward to try and catch her friend but was forced to watch as Emma's body made contact with the sidewalk. Arianna did the only thing that she could think of, she screamed.

"_Please don't die."_ Arianne cried as she dropped to her knees and began trying to feel for a pulse.

Arianna was frantically trying to find a pulse and soon enough, the other Avengers had gathered around but Emma wasn't moving.

"_You can't die like this!"_ she cried but before she could do anything, Steve grabbed her arm and pulled her backwards.

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**On a side note, you might want to read "Caviar and Pistachios and Chaos" as its apparently going to be a side fictlet to this. Only Arianna is mentioned the story but I plan on rewriting it to include Emma. **

**Thanks so much for reading... Toodles :)**


	4. Chapter 4

_**At long last I've finally managed to type enough without rewriting anything. It also took re-watching the Avengers movie nearly a hundred times (no joke) before I finally figured out how to proceed from Emma's apparent death.**_

_**I also wanted to dedicate this chapter to The Yoshinator, who has been my most faithful reviewer... **_

_**Disclaimer: Still not Stan Lee or CEO of Disney... **_

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Everything was so bright, Emma was sure that she was dead. Where else could she be, other than Heaven, that was this warm and bright? Her entire body ached and with the pain came the realization that this wasn't heaven and if this wasn't Heaven, then she wasn't dead. With a grimace and a groan, Emma forced herself to roll over and open her eyes. What lay in her line of sight was so beautiful that all she could do was stare. It was a grand city that lay in the foreground with an enormous castle in the background. A sudden shimmer caused her to look down and what lay beneath her was, if possible, even more amazing. The ground below her looked like a crystalline rainbow.

"_Where am I?"_ Emma whispered hoarsely as she struggled to sit up.

"_You are in Asgard, young one."_ Boomed a voice and Emma flinched as she tried to turn around.

There was complete silence as Emma starred at the giant of a man dressed in gold armor. She felt tiny under his gaze and as she starred at him.

"_How did I get here?"_ Emma managed to ask.

"_The Tesserect brought you here."_ He replied and Emma nodded dumbly.

Nothing was making sense at all. All she remembered was trying to shut the machine off before being blasted off the tower and passing out. She was fairly sure that she had landed on the ground, but how had she ended up in Asgard of all places? And why would the Tesserect have brought her here? She was so confused and her head started hurting again, so she did was she though was best; she fell asleep.

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Elsewhere in Asgard, Arianna was pacing like mad. She had agreed to journey with Thor and Loki on the return trip to Asgard. Being that she was half-Asgardian, she was excited to see what her childhood home looked like. Though no matter how excited she was, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right and on top of everything, she was suffering the loss of her absolute best friend. She knew though that she would rather be pacing than crying, which seemed like a viable option at the moment.

She was still pacing when Sif, a friend of Thor's, entered the room. She was carrying a beautiful wooden box and was being followed by three other women. Sif watched Arianna pace and quite honestly, she felt sorry for the poor girl. She had known Arianna long before the girl had been cast out of Asgard.

"_Queen Frigga has requested to see you."_ Stated Sif, which was effective in making Arianna jump.

"_These three are Brynja, Haldis, and Tindra. They have been assigned as your hand maids while you are here. They will be helping you dress for your audience with the Queen."_ She added as Arianna stared before nodding.

Sif placed the wooded box on the low table, gave Arianna an encouraging smile before disappearing out the door. Before Arianna could offer any sort of protest, two of the young women had seized her by the arms while the third grabbed the mysterious box. She was then led to what she assumed what a bathroom though it was grander that anything she had ever seen.

Nearly an hour later, she was deemed ready. The three women had thorough bathed her, styled her hair, applied cosmetics and had finally fitted her into the most luxurious gown she'd ever seen or worn. When Sif returned, she was taken back at the sight. Arianna truly was the most beautiful.

"_Shall we go?"_ Sif asked as Arianna nodded.

The walk to the throne room was quiet. Each woman was preoccupied with their own thoughts and the silence remained until they reached the corridor preceding the throne room. Sif led her to the door before moving back.

"_Good luck my friend."_ Sif stated as she motioned for Arianna to open the door.

With a brave-as-could-be smile, Arianna slowly opened the doors and entered the room. Inside the throne room was even grander than anywhere else in the castle. Queen Frigga sat silently upon her throne at the head of the room and Arianna was relieved to see Thor standing beside her.

"_Welcome to Asgard, my dear."_ The Queen stated as Arianna approached the front of the room.

"_Thank you, my queen." _Arianna replied as she curtsied the best she could.

"_Thor tells me that you landed on Midgard after you were cast out. I would like to hear about your time there."_ Queen Frigga stated and Arianna blinked.

"_I'll start where I remember. I don't remember being cast out of Asgard, but I do remember falling through a dark place until I landed on Earth. According to my mum, I'd broken several bones and the hospital they took me to assume that I'd been struck by a car and was suffering from some sort of amnesia. It was the Davis family that took me in and I had a normal childhood as a human."_ Arianna stated as she regaled her life story.

"_My earth mother died shortly after I left to attend school from a mortal illness. My earth father drank himself to death a few months later. I really miss them. They were good to me. A special sect of the government started following me after a few decades because I wasn't aging like other mortals. Eventually, I got hired by a secret government agency called SHIELD and was able to start uncovering some of my abilities. A few years back, I met Steve and we've been together for a while."_ She continued but was cut off by the throne room doors being thrown open by a very frantic servant.

"_Please forgive my interruption, my queen. The head healer has requested both Prince Thor and Princess Callisto, immediately."_ The girl stated as she dipped into a deep curtsy.

Nodding to his mother, Thor hurried forward and grabbed Arianna's arm. Together they hurried out of the room and Arianna followed Thor to the Healer's Wing. A nurse was waiting for them outside.

"_What's going on?" _asked Thor as the nurse jumped.

"_Heimdall brought us a mortal girl. He said she appeared on the Bifrost a short while after you arrived. She's been asking for you though."_ The nurse stated and Arianna bolted to the door as an angry shout echoed from the room.

Pushing the door open, Arianna saw the best thing in the world. There sitting on one of the beds was none other than Emma although her skin was a sickly green color. Arianna screamed as she ran over and threw her arms around her not so dead best friend.

"_You're alive!"_ Arianna cried as she gripped the woman.

"_I guess so but aren't I just a beautiful shade of green?"_ Emma quipped as she returned Arianna's hug.

"_You are pretty green aren't you? Wonder what's up with that?"_ Arianna stated as she finally let go and stood up again.

"_How could a mortal cross the Bifrost?"_ Thor asked as Emma looked up at the prince.

"_Heimdall said that it had to do with the Tesserect, that's what brought me here."_ Emma whispered as she studied the back of her hand.

"_I need to get back to Earth."_ She added as Thor shook his head.

"_With the gate destroyed, I'm not sure if that will be possible." _Thor stated as both Emma and Arianna stared at him.

Emma blinked back tears as she stared at her hands. Her skin was still green and it only served to remind her of Bruce. Then her mind was reeling. Was Bruce ok? What about the others? Had they won? Was Bruce alright? Her thoughts kept coming back to the wonderful doctor who held her heart. Just the thought of not being able to ever see him again hurt more than dying. She felt the wetness of the tears streaming down her cheeks as she starred hard at the floor. She desperately wanted to go home, to hold him tight, and let him know that she wasn't dead. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she completely missed the ongoing conversation.

"_I might be able to transport us back but it's not going to be easy."_ Arianna stated as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"_Maybe once we're back, we can start trying to open the bridge from the other side."_ She added as Thor brightened at the mention of Jane.

While they were talking, the same three women who had helped Arianna get dressed had reappeared with another elegant wood box. Arianna assumed that whatever they were going to do wasn't for her but rather for Emma, who was wearing the very tattered remains of her standard-issue agent uniform.

Hours later, both Arianna and Emma were wandering through the streets below the palace. The three hand maids had forced Emma out of her ragged uniform and into a beautiful cream colored dress, which Arianna swore was the nicest thing the girl had ever worn. Also, after being forced into a very nice bath, Emma's skin had begun returning to its normal color.

"_I wonder what caused you to turn green."_ Arianna mumbled as she glanced at her friend.

"_It's kind of the same reason the Hulk in green. It's all got to do with gamma radiation."_ Emma responded as she stopped to look at a merchant's stall that had some beautiful jewelry.

"_But then why did you turn green? Bruce only transforms when he's been angered." Arianna replied._

"_It's all a matter of where the radiation affects the brain."_ Emma replied distractedly as she moved to another stall.

"_Guess that makes sense. How'd you learn all that, anyways?"_ Arianna asked as Emma turned to look at her.

"_Bruce taught me a lot when I lived in Calcutta."_ Emma whispered as she glanced down at her hands again.

They continued on in silence, both distracted by their own thoughts. Eventually, they returned to the castle though neither was quite sure how they managed to find their way back. Dinner that night was a glorious spectacle but both Arianna and Emma retired early due to the insane amount of drinking that had begun to take place. Brynja, the eldest of the three hand maids, had escorted them to Arianna's room and pointed out that there was an attached guest suite. So, it was with a myriad of thoughts that the two women fell asleep to.

* * *

_**I feel rather pleased at how this turned out. Hopefully, the next chapter wont take as long for me to write.**_


End file.
